No Rainbows in Hell
by sTk
Summary: Prequel to a story called The First and Last Experiment. It's really supposed to explain what happened to Mello Matt and Near. Completely AU. Kira doesn't exist in this AU. And Wammy's House is pure evil. Also cotains Mello, Matt and Roger, BB, Near.


Wammy's House.  
In Watari's early days it was a wonderful place, an orphanage for the gifted. It gave children hope.  
After Watari contracted cancer and Alzheimer's disease he couldn't run it anymore. He placed his close friend in charge, Roger, unaware of how sick and diseased that man truly was.

On the outside, Wammy's House was quite ordinary looking. Even inside one would admit it was a very hospitable place with people who cared for it's child occupants. The children all looked happy.  
But for Roger, Wammy's House was a front. The lower levels, secret to those outside and even some of the workers, were the true rotten core of the L Project. There were three levels, B1, B2 and B3

B1 contained women all of whom were pregnant. Dozens of pregnant women trapped in cages without any light, the room was in complete darkness, except from the people who appeared to be doctors, patrolling the grounds. They were categorised by their children's expected due dates. They had plenty of food and water, but it was off. The whole level was silent, not a word was spoken by anyone. The women all appeared frightened, constantly, worriedly anticipating the moment a doctor would check on their cage. But when they did so, all trace of fear washed off from their face with an injection to the arm and stomach. A concoction of relaxant and mental enhancements. It was barbaric, inhumane, but it was Roger's vision. A vision just as sick as Watari's own, but on a grander scale.

B2 was the largest of the lower levels. It was more of a surgical ward that could be seen in a hospital. It was clean, it was precise but it was chilling to look at. The sereneness of the room itself had an odd air about it. It wasn't ordinary, and simple things did not happen there.  
It was here that children were born. It was here that the mother's were raped by the staff ,of a certain intelligence, and by Roger who for some sick twisted reason wished to foresee the operation. He believed that if both the parents had certain I.Q's, then the children would also. The enhancements they mother and child received only tried to increase their potential, while turning the mother insane in the process.

B3 was home to a wine cellar and the only child of the Backup project, warped by Watari and Roger, Beyond Birthday. Initially it was just for Beyond but in later years cages were introduced. Not for Beyond, but for the children of the orphanage. The ones who had did wrong had to perservere with Beyond in a hope that either something of L would rub off on them thus becoming stronger in the process, or they would die. All for the benefit of Roger's amusement. Beyond simply went along with it, hoping it would challenge his counterpart into finding him and ending the mayhem once and for all. But that could never happen.

While Watari used his own son, Beyond Birthday, to emulate L, Roger wanted to mass produce L's.  
The Backup project was a failure, partially due to Watari.

After L's death, Watari wanted nothing more to do with the Backup project he created. Basil Wammy, now known as Beyond Birthday [through Roger's manipulation], could never replace L. He should have been his own person. Watari wished he had thought like that before.  
He had tried several times after L's death to get back into Wammy's House, to release B, but Roger wouldn't allow him access.

_"A man in your condition can't be seen with the children. I'm sorry but the place has to be pure Quill, I don't want the project contaminated by your…disease. You already made a mess with the Backup, I can't let you do it with the rest. The hopefuls have to continue the course. Without you!"_

The hopefuls were, of course, Near, Mello and Matt. L and Watari's chosen ones. If they failed, like Beyond, the project would have been stopped and the dream would slumber no more.

The dream continued.  
Roger's dream.  
The nightmare.

If what became of Beyond was Watari's nightmare, then the fate of the three child geniuses was Roger's personal hell.

They awoke one bright sunny morning to be drugged and taken down into the hidden lower levels. The secret elevator whirred from old age as it descended down to B3, the lowest level, Beyond's _playground_. Miniscule fragments of rock fell from their surroundings as the elevator locked in it's place and the old dented metallic door slowly began to crack open. The small light from the elevator haunted the darkness of the floor like a ghost preying on the living. It was only a matter of time before the ghost devoured the living.

Roger hurried them out worriedly, a rusty silver key in hand, with his forehead sweating.  
He was scared. He was scared and nervous. He never liked B3, or Beyond for that matter.

While L was considered a freak by Roger, B was an extreme freak. A genetic freak of nature. B was the wildcard of Wammy's House. The children were different. He enjoyed watching them suffer. But B was much different. Once upon a time he was their hope, after L's death, but now he was just shame. If he could be used then it was fair enough in Roger's mind but it didn't mean he wanted to spend any time with him anymore. At least not directly.

"Roger. Where the fuck are we!"

Mello was the first to awaken. The boy stood defiantly towards the older man who only smiled sinisterly in his direction.

"Mello. I think it's time for you to _join_ your brother's and sisters"

Mello knew what he meant. He had never seen this place, or heard, but somehow he knew. This was were all the rejects were kept. Although he couldn't see it he knew that they weren't alone down here. They were amongst the dead, the secrets of Wammy's House. The orphans who died_ suddenly_ and were buried or cremated never did. They were kept down here for Roger's amusement, while B had his way with them.

It whole concept infuriated Mello. He had never liked Roger, always thinking he wasn't balanced and now he knew why. There was only one thing he could do, one thing that was instinctive for him to do. With all of his strength he bit into the old man's hand until blood poured from it.

Roger yelled in pain, kicking the small boy across the other end of the room. He held onto his hand tight, bearing the pain before moving the other two boys into their cages and locking them shut.

"He's all yours Beyond. Take good care of my _boys_"

There was a low rumble from the opposite end of the room. A gravely voice began to speak. At first it mumbled something but as it appeared it became more distinct as did it's shape. It was a man. A man in jeans and a t-shirt with a bald head. It was Beyond Birthday. The nightmare child.

"The blonde one….Mello. Will this bring L and _Daddy_ to me?"

Mello's bloodstained face gave an awkward sigh of breath. It sounded more like a wheezing laugh than anything else which caused Beyond to cock his head and ponder at the boy, licking his lips in anticipation. Mello stood up, wearily holding his ribs with one hand, trying to act cockily. He began in a hushed whisper with a flavour of anger in it, not looking Beyond in the eye, touching the precious crucifix around his neck.

"L's dead you stupid fuck."

_"LIAR!"_

Beyond swung his arm across Mello's head. It connected. The head swung to the side knocking the body along with it to the echo of a giant crack. He's killed him. In one moment of rage. That was how dangerous Beyond was.

Roger eyed the elevator exit, still open, before hobbling down towards Mello. He was one down. B was on the loose. He had to get rid of B for a little while, until the doctors could come down and administer the boy's medicinal enhancements.  
At least it was one less finance to worry about. Again.

"It's okay, B, calm down. L's alive. He'll come back now after what've you've done to his prized pupil." He smiled a sickly smile to the deranged boy, nodding his head. "Go on now, back to your room. I'll check in on you shortly."

_"LIAR!"_

B was a light man, but Roger was lighter. And B was in his youth. With his long spindly arm he grabbed Roger's throat and carried him down the hall.

"You never check up on me do you Roger-san? No. Never. Well we're going to have a nice little check-up now. A nice_ lovely_ check-up"

They vanished in the darkness, leaving the two boys in horror as they finally came around.  
Near was the first to speak. He called Matt's name but there was no answer. The boy was frozen in horror as his eyes stuck on Mello's lifeless corpse in the distance, his blonde hair shining in what little light the elevator had illuminated the place with.

"Mel's…he's…Mel's…-"

He was shaking. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It didn't make sense. Why was Mello dead?

"He's dead Matt."

He said it bluntly. Near could do no more. He only knew how to tell things as they were.  
He could never lie to Matt and be kind and tell him there were rainbows in Hell.

There was only death in Hell.

"I feel…I feel," he tried to put it into words but his brain couldn't connect with his mouth. He had never seen someone die before. He couldn't express it.

"You feel numb Matt."

Near had. Near knew exactly what it was. It was the same feeling from before.

"Yeah….do you?"

When L died.

"Yes."

These weren't the two boys they once were. They were different. Changed. New people. But they could never grieve in a cell with Mello right before their eyes. The stench of blood and death only unleashing more tears for Matt and more anguish for Near who couldn't look at him.

"Matt." He tapped the bars with his knuckles to lure the boy out of his trance. He turned slowly, his eyes hidden behind the goggles. Near was thankful. He didn't have to look into his eyes and feel the emotion from them. It would have only caused himself, who even now was composed, to break down.

"We aren't getting out of here Matt."

Matt said nothing. His eyes started to move back towards Mello.

"Matt!" he shouted quietly, hoping not to alert Beyond. "Don't look back. We have to think about the present Matt"

"It's fucking impossible," Matt's emotion took over control. "We aren't getting out of here!"

"Nothing is imposs-"

"We!"  
_He banged his head on the steel bars._  
"Are!"  
_He did the same again._  
"Never!"  
_A lens of his goggle cracked open_.  
"Getting!"  
_Blood began pouring from his eye. Glass from the lens had worked its way inside._  
"Out!"  
_Glass from the other lens fell to the ground. A cut formed on his head_.  
"Of!"  
_More blood trickled down his forehead now._  
"Here!"  
_He banged his head one last time, sobbing into the bars. His eyes, un-tinted, and staring right at the mixture of blood and glass._

Near remained calm. There was nothing he could do for Matt. He didn't know how.  
He wished he did. But the only thing he could think of was at least his eyes were off Mello. Somehow he thought it made a difference.

"Near…"

Matt picked up a piece of the glass lens from the ground.  
"You were always right," he laughed with cold _dead_ eyes. "Nothing is impossible. There is a way out."  
He smiled but it still couldn't match his eyes.

"Yes. There is." He still didn't look. He didn't have to. He knew what was going to happen. To him it was the only alternative.

"Thankyou."

Near's eyes caught the new blood oozing into his own cell. He heard a thump. Matt collapsed into the cell after cutting his own wrist.  
Near thought it was fitting in a way that Matt didn't like the sight of blood. At least he didn't have to experience the final few minutes of pain.  
Near looked at his own wrist, rolled back his shirt and held the piece of glass in his hand.  
But Near would have to experience the pain.  
He closed his eyes, as he sliced open his wrist, his veins, his life. He tried to smile through it, through the pain, trying to think of a bright day with L, Matt, Mello, Watari and himself all playing and having fun. But there were no rainbows in Hell.

The L Project was over. The three boys are all skeleton's in Roger's closet now. Their bones decorate the cages of Beyond's lair.


End file.
